CCAA Update 6-2008 / Part 2

Well, it's official. The CCAA updated their portal to reflect that they have completed review of LID's through January 31st, 2007! Oh yeah! As anticipated, the review process is moving along at a much faster pace than the referral process (no surprise there). Wasn't sure what was going to happen after the devastation suffered in China over the last couple of months. But it seems that the CCAA is determined to move forward the best that they can. Let's keep it rolling!

CCAA Update 6-2008

The CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) has updated their system with referrals through January 20th, 2006. Back to 8 days. Somewhat of an encouragement that the number of days actually went up, but still dismal progress. There's a rumor out there that January '07 is possibly out of review - let's hope that one's true. 2 more months till the Olympics - we'll be watching with great interest to see what happens after that.

Maria Sue Chapman - Forever

MARIA SUE CHAPMAN (2003-2008)

"At approximately 5pm on the afternoon of Wednesday May 21st, Maria Sue Chapman, 5 years old and the youngest daughter to Steven and Mary Beth Chapman, was struck in the driveway of the Chapman home in Franklin, TN. Maria was rushed to Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital in Nashville, transported by LifeFlight, but died of her injuries there. Maria was one of the close knit family’s six children and one of their three adopted daughters. Your prayers are needed for all in the Chapman family. This is a family who has so generously loved and given to so many. Just hours before, this close knit family was celebrating the engagement of their oldest daughter Emily Chapman, and were just hours away from a graduation party marking Caleb Chapman's completion of high school. Now, they are preparing to bury a child who blew out 5 candles on a birthday cake less than 10 days ago."

Words cannot begin to describe the grief that I felt when I heard this news. Just 6 days ago, I had the honor of meeting Steven Curtis at Parkview and share a few moments with him. Within those few moments, I was able to clearly see the passion that Steven has for his family. My heart breaks for the entire Chapman family - this is a tragedy that is beyond impossible to understand. I cannot even come close to being able to relate to their level of pain and loss. Although I cannot expect God to help this make sense to us, our prayers for peace and comfort join a host of others as we lift this family before His throne.

If you’d like to catch a glimpse of Maria and express your condolences, check out this link: http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/inmemoryofmaria/.

In lieu of flowers, the Chapmans request any gifts be directed to http://shaohannahshope.com/maria.

Steven Curtis Chapman @ Parkview

Last Friday night, we had the privilege of seeing Steven Curtis Chapman at our very own Parkview Christian Church. What an amazing night! Due to demand, he did 2 nights in a row, and he did not disappoint. Laura and I received an incredible gift from an anonymous donor - Someone purchased and donated to us (as an adoptive family) 2 front row seats, along with 2 "meet-and-greet" passes for after the show. I've been a fan of SCC for a very long time, so this came as a humbling surprise to us. We were looking forward to meeting him and sharing with him our investment in Chinese adoption (as he and his wife have also adopted 3 girls from China). What a guy - he took a few minutes to listen to our story, and he encouraged us in our venture. It was so awesome to look at him through a new perspective - that of an adoptive father, not just one of my favorite artists. He was so gracious. He even signed our "Shaoey and Dot" book, "To Raina - God Bless You - Steven". I can't wait to tell her the story of that signature. I don't think I'll ever forget that night.

CCAA Update 5-2008

The CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) has updated their system with referrals through January 12th, 2006. 3 days. Yay. What's next? We actually go in reverse and have to give children back to them?

Review Room Finishes 2006!

Not sure if I've ever explained the process of being "reviewed". When you're LID, the CCAA basically acknowledges your dossier, recognizes that you are legitimately adopting, and places your file aside to be reviewed at a later date. Eventually, your case is reviewed by their review board, and when your LID is reached, you are "matched" with a child. For the last 3 months, the review process has been stuck at October 31st, 2006. We've become frustrated with the stagnancy of this date and... the waiting continues. We desperately want to be "through review" because it may open up some options for us in terms of waiting children. Well, the CCAA has finally updated their web portal to reflect that they are now officially through review up to December 31st, 2006. This is excellent news - they blasted through 2 months at once. With a September 2007 LID, we are still 9 months away from being reviewed, but it is at least one step closer. We anticipate that January through April 2007 will be long months for the board to get through review because of the rule changes that went into effect on May 1st, 2007 and the windfall of dossiers that were logged in prior to that date. But after that, with the amount of submitted dossiers drastically falling, we should sail quickly towards September.

CCAA Update 4-2008

The CCAA (China Center of Adoption Affairs) has updated their system with referrals through January 9th, 2006. That makes 5 days this month. And that's all I have to say about that...